By Ken Chaisson
Hometown Weekly Staff
The Walpole Porkers field hockey team persevered to a 3-0 victory over the Central Catholic Raiders on Saturday November 7, 2026 at Walpole High School.
Walpole (13-3-2) is seeded 5th in Division 1. The
Raiders (7-9-2) were seeded 28th.
The two teams have met on the pitch in consecutive years in the opening round of the playoffs. In 2025, the Porkers won 7-0.
Walpole’s sophomore Eva Karacalidis was the best player on the field for both teams. She set up one goal, scored another to the top corner plus controlled the middle of the field on defense and offense. Her play swung the momentum in the second half.
Senior captain Ella Dacey was impregnable on defense. Central Catholic never got close to the
Porker net. Dacey repeatedly broke up passes in the middle of the field and swept any further forays to the sidelines.
The first quarter saw the Porkers control possession, but not generate many scoring chances until the final minute. Sophomore Naeema Rudolph drove to the net and was pushed by a Central Catholic defender. The ensuing corner went to Karacalidis who passed to senior captain Riley Halloran who rocketed it into the short side of the net.
The second quarter was similar with Walpole controlling possession and generating few serious scoring chances. The teams entered halftime with the score still 1-0.
The Porkers created some breathing room in the third quarter as senior captain Caroline Handwerk passed the ball up the middle of the field to Karacalidis who carried it to the striking circle where she made a slick forward pass to sophomore Maddie Weckesser who deked the goalie and tucked the ball into the cage to double Walpole’s lead.
Walpole added to their lead in the final stanza as Karacalidis took a pass from freshman Addie Miles and ripped a backhanded shot to the top corner. The shot left those in attendance stunned.
Freshman goaltender Anna Quartarone was not tested throughout but was steady when needed. She had to handle two balls which were off-net. Those were as close as the Raiders got to a shot on net.
Walpole had 11 corners and 19 shots on net. Central Catholic had no corners or shots on net.
Walpole will play 12th seeded Natick (12-4-2) at home in the next round. The Bay State Conference rivals played late in the regular season with Walpole winning 2-0. The queens of the Division 1 mountain remain so for another day.
